Former White House national security adviser John Bolton has indicated that President Donald Trump is a primary target on Iran’s assassination list. During an interview on Sky News’ program “The World,” Bolton raised concerns about Iran’s far-reaching terror network in Europe and the United States.
Bolton, who served as National Security Adviser under Trump from 2018 to 2019, claimed that Iran has targeted several U.S. officials for assassination. These actions are believed to be in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 near Baghdad Airport, Iraq.
“President Trump is at the top of their list of their targets,” Bolton stated in the interview. He also mentioned that he himself is on Iran’s assassination list, although Trump remains the primary target.
Soleimani, a major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and head of the Quds Force, was responsible for Iran’s extraterritorial military operations. The U.S. had labeled him a terrorist. Before his death, he was one of the most influential figures in Iran, second only to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Bolton suggested that Iran seeks to enlist criminal elements, such as “Eastern European criminal gangs and others,” to execute its plots. This corresponds with intelligence reports showing Iran’s increased reliance on criminal networks in Europe for attacks against perceived adversaries.
In 2022, the U.S. Justice Department issued an arrest warrant for Iranian national Shahram Poursafi, accused of plotting Bolton’s assassination. Court documents revealed Poursafi, an IRGC member, attempted to pay individuals up to $300,000 to kill Bolton in Washington, D.C. or Maryland. Poursafi remains in Iran.
Bolton told Sky News that threats against him and other former officials persist. “I’m not the only person in addition to Trump,” he noted, adding that other former cabinet officials are also targets for actions taken during their government service.
Bolton warned that if Iran succeeded in assassinating a senior U.S. official, it could be seen as an “act of war,” describing the situation as “really dangerous.”
His warning comes amid rising concerns about Iran’s use of criminal networks for operations in Europe and North America. Security agencies have reported Iran’s increasing collaboration with organized crime groups for surveillance, intimidation, and attacks on Iranian dissidents, Israeli and Jewish targets, and Western officials.
In May, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum disclosed that British authorities have dealt with 20 Iranian-backed plots targeting UK citizens since January 2022. He noted that “Iranian state actors make extensive use of criminals as proxies” in these operations.
Swedish and Israeli intelligence agencies recently revealed that Iran has engaged Swedish criminal gangs like Foxtrot and Rumba to target Israeli and Jewish sites in Europe. In May 2024, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) confirmed that Iran’s activities within the country pose security threats, often utilizing criminal networks as proxies.
Since the 2018 thwarted Iranian bomb plot in Paris, which led to an Iranian diplomat’s arrest, Tehran has shifted tactics to distance itself from overseas operations. The French domestic intelligence service, DGSI, reported that Iranian intelligence has “adapted their modus operandi and now more systematically prefer to use people from criminal circles” for foreign attacks.
Targets of these operations have expanded beyond Iranian dissidents to include U.S. and European officials involved in actions against Iranian interests, particularly those linked to Soleimani’s killing.
Despite Bolton’s warnings, his relationship with Trump has been strained since he departed from the administration. Bolton has become a vocal critic of Trump and even considered running against him. He described his time in the Trump White House as akin to living in a “pinball machine.”
Adding to the tension, Bolton disclosed that Trump withdrew his government security protection upon returning to office in January 2025. “On what one might have thought was a pretty busy inauguration day, President Trump had the time to cancel my Secret Service protection,” Bolton stated. He cautioned that this action “sends a very bad signal to adversaries of the United States around the world.”
Bolton has since arranged his own private security to replace the Secret Service detail. He expressed concern that Trump’s actions could “have an effect on decision making” for current administration officials if they see what happens to those who “fall out of Trump’s favor.”
The U.S. government has implemented unprecedented measures to protect some former officials targeted by Iran. Still, others, especially those who have fallen out of favor, have had to secure their own protection.
In October 2024, the Biden administration offered a reward of up to $20 million for information on Shahram Poursafi, charged with plotting to kill Bolton. This reward followed intelligence briefings to then-presidential candidate Trump about an Iranian assassination plot against him.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged several individuals linked to Iranian plots against American citizens and former officials in recent years, underscoring the ongoing threat from Tehran’s network and its criminal proxies.
